Offers a big picture analysis of American Catholicism
The Catholic Church is at a crossroads. Based on a survey of over 1500 American Catholics and interviews with nearly 60 Church leaders, this book tells a compelling story about the present and future of American Catholicism through the lenses of religious belief and parish experiences, moral authority, race and ethnicity, politics, sex and family, and future trends.
The latest in a series of important sociological overviews drawing on nation-wide surveys administered every six years, Catholicism at a Crossroads charts this new era of Catholic worship, belonging, and identity in America today. Augmenting the survey data for the first time with over fifty interviews with lay and ordained US Catholic leaders, the book illustrates how the church has adapted to Pope Francis’s papacy, the rise of religious non-affiliation, and various demographic changes including an increasing Hispanic population. Addressing how the church is responding to recent cultural challenges presented by political polarization, racial unrest, and threats to democracy, Catholicism at a Crossroads offers an up-to-date, nuanced, and definitive portrait of American Catholicism in the twenty-first century.
The book may be purchased from a number of online retailers or from the NYU website and a 30% discount will be applied with the code: NYUAU30
Acclaim:
“With a deft use of survey data, excerpts from interviews, a keen grasp of important trends and an unfailing generosity of spirit, this research team tells a detailed and engagingly written story of the Catholic community within the United States today. This book finds a deservedly broad readership among Church leaders, rank-and-file Catholics, sociologists and other religion scholars, as well as among any readers interested in a compelling account of how a longstanding religious tradition, marked by both constancy and change, continues to anchor a people’s faith.” ~Jerome Baggett, author of The Varieties of Religious Experience: Atheism in American Culture
“U.S. Catholicism is, indeed, at a crossroads. At our own peril, the faithful, ministry leaders, and scholars alike ignore the importance of people of color in the U.S. Catholic Church and increasing religious disaffiliation. If dioceses and parishes as well as Catholic schools and universities are going to survive and thrive in the middle and decades of the 21st century, we must understand where the U.S. Church is and where it is going. The data and analyses presented by Day, Cavendish, Perl, Dillon, Gautier, and D’Antonio provide a much needed roadmap for creating plans to ensure the U.S. Catholic Church’s future.” ~Tia Noelle Pratt, Villanova University
“Deeply realistic, deeply thoughtful, deeply hopeful, Catholicism at a Crossroads offers the best insight available into the state of Catholicism in the US today—and where it may go in the future. It should be read by every religious sister, priest, and bishop; every Catholic teacher and organizational leader; every professor at a Catholic college; and every thinking Catholic. Even just reading the ‘Implications’ section that concludes each chapter will be rewarding. This will likely be the smartest Catholic book you read this year—and may even change how you relate to Catholicism.” ~Richard L. Wood, President, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies
